The Fog
by rachelisafallenangel
Summary: [After waking up from a strange car accident, 8 teenagers notice a friend has gone missing. With no way to get their vehicle out of a ditch and no way to contact the authorities, they venture off on their own to find their missing friend. They soon find themselves wrapped in a mystery that no one could ever solve.] Other genres: romance/friendship.
1. Chapter 1

**Hey! New story! How are all of you? I know I kinda dropped off the face of the earth. Well...I've been working on a new story and stuff but here's this one!**

**I got this idea from a video game called _The Fog, _so I don't own the game, but I do own a few of the ideas...**

**Fun fact: When I had first started writing this, I had no idea how to start it. So, I went on a walk and when I came back, my brother had typed on my blank page (as he always does) "I love pizza". It made me think of Alfie, so I switched "love" out for "want" and that's how you get the beginning of this chapter and new story! **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

"I want pizza!" Alfie Lewis exclaimed from the backseat.

"I don't care what we have as long as we eat!" Joy Mercer spoke up.

The gang was driving down an old, dusty road in a bus. They had borrowed it from the school with Mr. Sweet's permission. As a present to themselves for graduating, they were headed to a city on the other side of the small town they were driving through for a music festival they had been planning to go to for ages. Eddie Miller was driving, leaning against the sill of the open window. It was getting dark; the sun was setting behind them and everyone was hungry.

"There doesn't seem to be anything for miles." Nina Martin stated from beside Joy.

"Unless that welcome sign back there was lying, since there's a population of 121, I think we should see some kind of old witch lady in a cabin with some pickled werewolf fangs." Jerome Clarke grumbled.

"Werewolf," Alfie exclaimed, looking out the window fearfully.

"There's no werewolf, Alfie; Jerome's just being funny." Mara Jaffray assured him.

"That wasn't funny!"

"There's a diner, I think." Patricia Williamson pointed out to her boyfriend.

He maneuvered the bus to the right and pulled into the small parking lot of the little trailer diner. "It's open; let's eat!"

They all piled out of the bus and Alfie looked around. "This is just like every single horror movie I've ever seen! The unsuspecting teens walk into an old diner on a deserted street and then bam! A murderer creeps out of the shadows, looking in through the window as they all sit there happily and then ten minutes later—"

"Alfie," Amber Millington scolded quietly but her gray eyes darted to the shadows around them.

"Why do you let him watch those things?" Patricia scoffed at Jerome and followed Eddie into the diner.

Jerome narrowed his eyes at her but followed, choosing to remain quiet. The diner was empty except for the woman at the counter and the man in the kitchen. Nina, Fabian and Patricia slid into one side of the booth with Alfie, Amber and Joy on the other. Eddie and Jerome moved a table from the middle of the diner to meet the booth and sat in the chairs, Eddie beside Patricia and Mara between Jerome and Joy.

The woman made her way over to their table lazily and took their orders, which came quickly. As they ate, Alfie and Jerome almost started a food fight but their girlfriends restrained them. Nina shook her head and her green eyes glanced at the window when something caught her eye. For a moment, it looked like a tired old woman in a dirty hood but the image was there for only a split second before it was gone and she shrugged it off.

While the others left the diner after they finished eating, Eddie paid for them. Jerome took the wheel this time and they headed off again. The moon had given an eerie glow to the woods around them, but it soon disappeared behind a cloud.

"So, Alfie, was there anyone strange looking at us through the window." Joy laughed.

"No," he mumbled. "I'm probably not the target – whoever saw the murderer is the victim."

Nina felt her heart skip a beat but she immediately pushed those thoughts away. She was just being paranoid; she never thought like that. They were all going to be fine.

Jerome glanced in the rearview mirror and then back at the road. This road was dark, spooky, and Alfie's ghost stories weren't helping. Jerome wasn't one to let his imagination run wild but a thick fog was slowly rolling over the road, and fog could play tricks on the mind. He brightened the headlights and continued down the road.

"Where is this place?" Amber demanded suddenly, cutting off Alfie as he continued with his alien abduction story.

"In the next town, but I don't know when we'll get there. This place can't be that big. Nina check."

Nina reached into her bag and took out a roadmap, in search of the road they were on.

Jerome waited patiently for her to announce where to go and what to do when suddenly the bus jerked up and everyone jumped. It bounced again as the back tires popped the same way as the front ones. The others cried out as the bus spun to the side and off the side of the road. It skidded down a hill; over a few rocks and ditches, and Jerome struggled to try to keep it from tipping as everyone bumped around in their seats and into each other. It happened much faster than they thought it did, and the bus smashed into a tree.

* * *

**Yay! First chapter! Let me know what y'all think! :D**

**"See the misfit in the mirror. See the freak that lives inside. See the misfit in the mirror cry. See the one no body wanted, shattered by a world of lies. See the misfit in the the mirror die."**

**-Rachel**


	2. Chapter 2

**Thank you for the reviews on the first chapter, I'm glad you all like it so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter and the ones to come! :) **

**On the 22nd, I will be uploading my new story, _The Silent Scream_! It's part of a series called _Lewis and Clarke_ that's a parody of the _Hardy Boys_. :)**

**I'm gonna start working on _The Touchstone of Ra_ again, so if you want to see anything in the next five chapters (the last five chapters!), go review or PM me!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Jerome opened his blue eyes and lifted his head off the steering wheel slowly. He shook his head once and ran a hand through his hair. His first thought was to check on Mara, behind him. His second thought was that the door was open. His third thought was still trying to process that the bus had completely gone off the road.

He carefully got out of his seat and lifted Mara off the floor. She had a small bump on her forehead from hitting the bar in front of the seat from when the bus had hit the tree and everyone had lurched forward.

"You okay?" he asked, brushing her black hair over her shoulder.

"Yeah, what about the others?" she mumbled, touching her forehead. She winced and opened her eyes to look up at him.

"I'll check on them," he whispered, pressing a kiss to her temple and straightening after checking that she'd be alright sitting down. "Eddie, Patricia, you two okay?"

"Whiplash," Eddie grumbled, massaging his neck.

"Ugh, what hit me?" Patricia complained.

"My head," came Joy's reply as she sat back up.

"Amber," Mara shook her friend gently and the blonde opened her gray eyes. "Are you okay?"

"I think so," she turned to Alfie and shook his shoulder. "Boo, wake up. Are you okay?"

"Hm," he grunted, twisting, and then he sat up, exclaiming, "I love pizza!"

Everyone laughed quietly. You can always count on Alfie to make the situation better.

"He's okay," Jerome grinned. He directed his attention to the front. "Fabian, Nina, you two okay?"

No answer came.

"Fabes?" Joy called.

"Hey, Rutter, speak up." Jerome ordered.

Fabian stood up but he didn't respond. He looked around, searching the seats with his gray eyes. "Where's Nina?"

"Fabian, first, we need to know if you're okay." Jerome said slowly.

"Where's Nina?" he demanded. When he saw that the bus door was open, he bolted from the vehicle and Jerome and Eddie trailed him as he stumbled, running across the uneven land.

"Fabian, listen to us," Eddie grabbed his arm and jerked him to a halt to look at him. "Are you okay? No bodily injuries?"

"No," he shook his head. "Where's Nina?"

"Come back to the bus, mate, we'll talk there." Jerome said.

"Fabian, are you okay?" Mara asked, stepping out of the bus.

He sat on a rock and ran a hand through his brown hair. "Where's Nina?"

"She's not in the bus," Joy announced, hugging herself.

Thick, white fog fell down the hill and around their feet. They all stood outside the bus, wondering where their friend was.

"Would Nina really leave without her phone?" Jerome scoffed and then stopped. "Yes, yes, she would."

"Well, Nina would never leave the bus without telling us. And she'd never go out at night, alone." Eddie pointed out.

"Let's look for her." Fabian pleaded.

Jerome looked at Mara. She spoke, "I think we should appoint Jerome and Eddie as the leaders."

"Why," Patricia scoffed.

"I agree," Amber nodded.

Eddie pulled Jerome away from the others to the back of the bus. "What should we do?"

Jerome sighed and looked around, analyzing their surroundings. Behind Eddie was the hill that led to the road, to the left was open ground and then trees, too thick to see through, and to the right were more trees. Something glinted in the moonlight, under the fog and he picked it up. A locket. The one Fabian had given Nina for her birthday last year. She would never take it off.

"Let's go that way." He pointed to the trees to the right and Eddie thought a moment before nodding, trusting Jerome's judgment.

They went back around to the other side of the bus and informed the group that they'd go looking for Nina.

"But let's get some things from the bus first. Emergency supplies; just in case we might need them." Jerome explained as he climbed back into the bus. He grabbed the girls' purses and dumped them out on a seat. He distributed a few things to each bag that were most likely needed. He grabbed the road map and the emergency flares and placed them in Mara's bag. He hopped out of the bus and gave the girls their bags.

"Thank you," Amber said gratefully. She reached into the bag and searched for her lipstick, but instead she found medical supplies. "Where's my stuff?"

"I put everything that we might need in the bags. Do not use any makeup in there, we could need it later."

"I need it now!"

"Amber, we're in the middle of nowhere; one of us is missing and we need to find her. The bus can't get out of the ditch and we have no cellphone reception. Do not use that makeup." He ordered. He took Mara's hand and motioned in the direction he and Eddie had decided to go.

He pushed through the branches, Alfie and Amber right behind him and Mara, followed by Fabian and Joy and then Patricia and Eddie. Before they could get very far, there was a fork in the path. Jerome looked down each path, but he couldn't tell which one would be the right one.

"Jerome," Mara knelt down and picked up a bracelet off the left path. Nina.

He took the bracelet from her and pocketed it with the locket and led the group down the trail. They went a little farther before stopping at a river. The track continued but there were rocks that could be used to go over the water.

He spotted a ring and grabbed it. He held it up for them to see. "She left signs for us to find her; to be able to follow her to where ever she's headed. Keep an eye out for anything Nina was wearing earlier."

They crossed over the river without difficulty. After finding several other items that belonged to their friend, Jerome pushed into a clearing. To their left was an abandoned car; rusted and missing a wheel, the windows broken and the trunk popped open. To the right was a gate that led to the backyard of the old house before them. Beyond the backyard was what appeared to be several bunkers and sheds, and Joy pointed out that there was an RV parked down a trail on the left side of the house.

"So, what's our plan of action, mate?" Jerome looked at Eddie.

Fabian spoke up instead. "Where would Nina be?"

"That's what we're trying to find out, Fabes." Joy assured him.

"I think we should split up and try to find anyone that could help us; find a phone; or find some sign that Nina is or was here." Eddie said.

"Who goes where?" Alfie asked. "I want to go to the house. It's the least creepy place."

"I'll go with Alfie." Amber proclaimed.

"Patricia, you go to the house with those two." Eddie instructed. "Fabian, Joy and I will check out the bunkers. Jerry and Jaffray, that leaves the RV for you two. Don't have too much fun."

"And we'll meet back here at the car in an hour." Jerome added.

After confirmation from all of them, they all parted their separate ways.

* * *

**Review? :)**

**New chapter will be up in a few days. **

**"****Rise from the dead you say? Secrets don't sleep 'til they're took to the grave. Signal the sirens, rally the troops. Ladies and gentlemen, it's the moment of truth."**

**-Rachel**


	3. Chapter 3

**I'm trying to figure out if anyone reads my ANs, let me know? **

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Patricia, Alfie and Amber headed up the walkway to the front door of the house, but Amber suddenly stopped and turned toward Patricia. She closed her eyes.

"Please don't tell me that in that doghouse is the skeleton of a person." She whispered, covering her mouth with her hand.

Patricia peeked over the blonde's shoulder and her green eyes widened in shock. "No, it's not,"—Amber sighed in relief—"that's a dog's skeleton."

Amber gasped, and grabbed Alfie's arm for comfort and followed Patricia into the house, fearfully closing her eyes. When they were standing in the foyer, she opened her eyes and looked around.

"This place looks abandoned." Patricia commented. She looked to the right and then ahead of them and then to the left. She chose to go to the left first where they found a living room. It looked like it could have been cozy and perfect for a small family at one point, but the couches had been torn up and the pictures on the walls faded and the lamp in the corner was broken; a vase was broken with dead roses lying with the broken china. But Patricia noticed that on the fireplace mantel, four pictures were tacked to the wood.

The first was a man, a woman and a young girl with light brown hair and green eyes; they were all smiling. The second was of the same man and woman and the little girl was older. Patricia did a double-take. The third was of the man, woman and girl, only the girl looked a little unhealthy, but they were smiling. And then the last picture was the girl in a hospital bed, looking even worse than in the picture before.

"She looks like Nina," Amber pointed out.

"I know." Patricia mumbled and pulled out her phone, snapping a picture and then turning back to her friends. "Let's go check out the second floor."

Amber nodded and motioned Alfie upstairs. He looked at her and then back up to the steps. He sighed sorrowfully, realizing there was no way out of it, and trudged up cautiously. Patricia and Amber close behind. Once they reached the next floor. Alfie pointed to the first room in the hallway. He pushed the door open and found that it was a master bedroom.

They spread out, opening drawers and shuffling through papers. Amber hesitantly opened a wardrobe door, but found nothing inside except for a pair of dusty trousers.

Patricia walked over to a vanity and boredly wiped the dust off the glass. She immediately jumped at the vivid image of a pitch black spirit with glowing eyes that flashed from inside the mirror. The glass shattered and she covered her eyes.

"Patricia, what happened?" Alfie asked quickly.

"The mirror's just old. Don't worry about it." she waved his concern off and he looked away after a second.

He pulled a purple book off a bookshelf that had been the only book that had no dust on it. He flipped it open and found that it was missing most of its pages. It was a woman's diary and there were only two more pages; two different entries.

"Hey, guys, listen to this." He called and began to read out loud. "'Sophie hasn't stopped talking about that imaginary friend of hers. Yesterday, a man from town brought her back home after Chris and I searched high and low for her. She had been about to jump off a cliff – she told us that her friend wanted to go sledding. She hasn't gotten any better either. She looks sicker than usual but she still insists on playing out in the tree house with that girl.'"

"Sophie must be that little girl in the pictures." Amber recognized.

"And Chris is the husband." Patricia added.

"There's another entry: 'Sophie has refused to leave her room and I don't know what to do! She's kicking and screaming and Chris is at the laboratory. I'm so scared; I don't know how to make her feel better. I know this is that girl's fault; Sophie's imaginary friend. We shouldn't have come here. This isn't healthy for Sophie or Chris and I. Oh, my baby girl…'"

Patricia nodded. "Keep those and let's go look in the other rooms."

Alfie tore the pages out and folded them, slipping them into his pocket as they left the room and entered the next; a bathroom.

It was big enough for all three of them to fit in it without it being cramped. Patricia opened the medical cabinet and Alfie peeked into the linen closet and Amber shrieked in fright. Patricia jumped and spun around, grabbing her friend's shoulders.

"Amber, what's wrong?"

"Th-there was a body of a girl! In the bathtub!" She pointed and Patricia sighed.

"You're imagining things." She stated and shrugged. "There's nothing in here, let's go to the last room and then head back down stairs."

Amber looked back at the bathtub but nothing was there and she breathed out slowly. It was just her imagination. She followed Alfie into the last bedroom; a child's.

"Sophie's?" Alfie wondered quietly and then his brown eyes widened. He pointed at the bed that sat in the corner and Patricia laughed lightly at the teddy bear that sat at the foot of it. Instead of buttons for eyes and a small smiling mouth, it had beady red eyes and pointy fangs.

"Wow, that's some teddy bear. Why didn't I get that for my birthday?" Patricia shook her head in amusement and looked at the TV in the corner of the room. Static. She turned the knob to switch it off, but it remained on. She looked behind it to find the cord and unplug it, but found that the cable was already lying on the floor, unplugged. She straightened and scoffed. "There's nothing in here. Let's go back downstairs."

She led the way again and jogged down the narrow staircase. She turned into a kitchen on her left and walked over to a door that was in the corner. She tugged on the handle, but it was locked tightly.

"Keep an eye out for the key." she declared and opened one of the drawers.

"The meat cleaver in this knife set is missing." Alfie stated and Patricia huffed.

"Do we need to know that, Alfie?" she asked and moved onto one of the cupboards.

"No, I guess not." he opened the refrigerator and freezer in hopes of finding food but found it empty, all except a giant ice cube. But something caught his eye and he stopped himself from closing the freezer, letting the fridge shut. He took a meat tenderizing hammer off the counter and hit the ice.

"Alfie, what are you doing?" Amber asked.

Alfie let out a breath when the block suddenly broke free and slid to the back of the freezer. He set the hammer down and hurriedly put the ice cube on the counter, wiping his hands on his jeans to warm them. "There's a key in there."

"Good job, Alfie." Patricia smiled. "I bet there's gotta be _something _important about this locked room if they have to freeze the key."

* * *

**Review? **

**If you read my ANs, put _Sibuna_ at the end of your review.**

**"Leaning now into the breeze, remembering Sunday, he falls to his knees. They had breakfast together, but two eggs don't last like the feeling of what he needs."**

**-Rachel**


	4. Chapter 4

**I'm so glad you all like this story! This is definitely one of my favorites! :)**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Joy and Fabian trailed behind Eddie closely as they marched further away from the house and their friends. The gravel under their feet crunched and filled the silence of the yard. The grass on either side of the path was brown and uncut, littered with toys, tools, shoes and books. Joy bent over and picked up a doll when Eddie halted.

"Where is everyone?" she whispered, brushing her thumb over the doll's dirty cheek.

"This base was probably abandoned a couple years ago – maybe, ten or more." Eddie shrugged.

"No, this doll is new."

"What?" he turned to her.

"I got a doll just like this for my niece last year. This base couldn't have been abandoned so long ago." she looked up at him sadly and he sighed.

"Don't worry," he assured her and jerked his head back to what was ahead of them. "Let's check out this shelter."

She nodded and tucked the doll into her purse. She followed Eddie to the stone shelter that was built into the side of a small hill. Fabian looked around and wandered to the right, away from the other two. They didn't notice and Eddie tugged on the door.

"Locked," he announced.

"Is there a key somewhere?" Joy asked, brown eyes sweeping over the path and the grass, pushing weeds away from the sides of the shelter.

"It'd be pretty hard to find in this place." he commented.

They searched through the grass and in the gravel for the key but found nothing. Eddie grabbed her elbow and unzipped her purse. She waited for him to finish shuffling through it and he pulled out a hairpin. He kneeled before the door and inserted the pin into the keyhole.

"Nina taught me how to do that." He chuckled, opening the door.

"Wait, Eddie, where's Fabian?"

Eddie whipped around, his eyes darting around the small area. Joy sighed, walking over to where Fabian was pulling a wire fence gate open.

"Fabian, can you slow down? We're going to check out the bunker first—"

"I'll be fine, Joy, just come and find me when you're done."

"Fabes, it's not safe." She said and grabbed his arm, tugging him toward the bunker again.

The three ventured through the dark doorway into a room that was lit by a single red emergency light. Office chairs lay discarded on their sides, control panels and monitor screens smashed and wires pulled from everywhere.

Eddie swallowed thickly, green eyes training on the tile floor that might have once been white, but it was now dusty and dried up red puddles here and there. Joy's grip tightened on Fabian's arm and he looked around in surprise. He wasn't completely paying attention, but he knew that this was serious. He was trying so very hard to get his head in the game.

Eddie picked up a jumper cable off the floor and furrowed his eyebrows. He unhooked a wire hanger from a pipe. He undid it and got down on his knees next to a grate in the floor. One corner of it had been pulled up.

"What are you doing?" Joy asked, watching him curiously.

"There's a second jumper cable down there." He grunted, moving the hanger around, careful not to push the cables off the pipe they were hanging on.

"So…?" she drifted off.

"I need to keep an eye out for anything that could come in handy. Jerry and the others are doing the same thing. I don't think this was an accident. Someone put that cable down there on purpose. Why? I'm not sure yet – oh, shoot." He mumbled in shock. The hanger's hook had looped around the wire but it started to slide down when he tried to lift it from the pipe. A second later, the cable stopped slipping when the clasp at the end hooked onto the hanger's hook.

"Boy, aren't you lucky." Joy laughed, patting his shoulder.

Eddie breathed out a sigh of relief as he chuckled, pulling the hanger and cable up. He tied the cables together and slipped a loop over his shoulder. He looked around once more before motioning for them to follow him out of the shelter.

They walked through the gate Fabian had opened and Eddie stopped next to a jeep. The windshield was broken and the seats were covered in dirt; weeds wrapped around the wheels and over the doors.

"I guess we won't be using this jeep, but," he rounded the vehicle to the trunk and pulled out a radio. "This might come in handy." He flipped the on switch and it came to life, but only a second later, something inside of it clicked and the light went off again. "Fabian, do you know how to fix this?"

Fabian didn't reply as he stared off into space. Suddenly, he took off in a sprint toward one of the bunkers in the distance.

"Fabian!" Eddie and Joy hollered simultaneously. They dashed in his direction and he halted next to a bunker. He leant against the side of it, his hand flat on the wood. He huffed and puffed, looking around in confusion like he couldn't understand how he had gotten there. Eddie grabbed his shoulder and spun him around, looking into his eyes, but Fabian's blue orbs wavered.

"Fabian, don't take off like that." Eddie ordered.

"I-I saw Nina though…" he mumbled, his vision going foggy once and then returning to normal. "I'm sorry. I'm not being much help am I?"

"Fabes, we know you're worried about Nina – we all are – but you have to stick with us." Joy said softly.

The brunette's eyes met hers and he took a deep breath. "I'm going to focus. Running around and acting like a maniac isn't going to help Nina, will it?"

"No, it won't." Eddie gestured back to the jeep as they walked back to it calmly. "Can you help me fix the radio?"

"Yes, _that_ I can do." Fabian nodded and picked it up by the handle. "This isn't CB, this is a Ham Radio. You use Morse code to contact and then use a microphone, but…I don't see a microphone."

"Can we just use Morse code then?" Eddie asked.

"Yeah, that'll be fine. We just need to signal an SOS and give our location. I need a map though."

"I saw one in the bunker over there. I'll be right back." Eddie grinned, patting his friend's shoulder and jogging to the shelter. Now they were getting some place.

* * *

**Review? **

**If any of you haven't read my new story, Lewis and Clarke: The Silent Scream, could you check it out and let me know what you think? Thank you!**

**_"It's scratching on the walls, in the closet, in the halls. It comes awake and I can't control it. Hiding under the bed, in my body, in my head. Why won't somebody come and save me from this, make it end?"_ -Monster, Skillet**

**-Rachel**


	5. Chapter 5

**Alright, I'll be updating A Love Like War in a sec!**

**Now, we all know that this would not be my story if it didn't have at least ****_one_ ****Jara scene! So...Jara chapter! :D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Jerome and Mara ventured out into the unknown, the RV their destination. When they pushed through the last few branches, they saw a cliff. On the right, a set of stairs led to a platform on the edge of the cliff. On the left, the RV sat, the door hanging open and a vehicle nowhere to be seen.

"I was hoping there'd be a truck or something so I could get some help." Jerome grumbled and pulled her toward the RV.

"Wait, J, the RV is hanging off the cliff. I don't think it'd be safe to go in there." She pointed out, holding him back.

"Good eye, babe." He complimented and his blue eyes swept around the area. "Here's a rope, but I don't want to tie it to those stairs…"

"There are sandbags up here," Mara announced as she climbed the steps.

Jerome followed her and walked over to the large machine that sat before them. He flipped the _on_ switch curiously but it didn't respond. He looked up and stared at the foggy ravine that was in clear view since there was no third wall.

"What is it?" Mara asked.

"I think it's a mountain lift." He replied, switching the control off.

"Do you think Nina, or help, could be on the other side of the gorge?"

Jerome shrugged. "Maybe, but it's not working anyway. But we'd have to talk to the others first."

Mara nodded and stepped out of his way as he lifted a sandbag and started down the steps. He moved three more and tied the rope onto them. He tied the other end of the rope to the trailer hitch and double-checked its security. He took Mara's hand and climbed into the RV. His eyes instantly widened.

"J…" Mara whispered, hugging his arm.

"I don't know." He said and she looked up at him pointedly.

"You and I both know."

Dried gore tainted the white cupboards and yellow counter top tile. The windows of the trailer smashed and the glass lay littered on the floor. The RV had no sign of any living thing.

"And if this couldn't get any weirder…" Jerome mumbled, motioning to the counter.

A stuffed bunny stood, dried red splotches covering its body. A blood stained meat cleaver was taped to its arm.

"Whoever did that is sick."

Jerome chuckled and pulled on one of the wood planks that held one of the cupboards shut. As Mara looked around, he took the meat cleaver from the bunny and chopped through both planks.

"There must be some pretty important things in here for someone to board them up." Jerome said as he opened the second cupboard. "Or there's something really important on the other side of that gorge for someone to hide gas and a part of the machine in here."

He slung the belt over his shoulder and grabbed the gas tank, running a hand through his hair.

"Alright, love, you ready?" he asked, turning toward the door. When he didn't receive an answer, he peered back at her. "Mara,"

She stood by a broken window, staring at a baby crib, and Jerome dropped what he was carrying, rushing to her as she bent down and picked up a baby rattle. He grabbed her shoulders, pulling her back.

"There was a baby…" she whispered.

"Honey," he spun her around and she gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand. He pulled her into his chest as she cried and led her out of the RV. "Sit here," he instructed and sat her down on the steps.

She watched him with swollen eyes as he grabbed the gas tank and belt from the camper and kicked the door shut. He scooted past her and climbed the steps to the machine.

"I'm going to fix this and then we'll head back to the car. Will you be okay, darling?"

She nodded and hid her face between her knees, letting herself let out quiet sobs as her boyfriend fixed the mountain lift controls.

It broke his heart to hear her so heartbroken.

"J, why would someone do that to a baby?"

Jerome straightened and let out a long sigh. He turned to her as she stopped at the top of the stairs. "Mara, please don't…"

"Don't what? Care that some psycho killed an innocent baby?" she snapped. "How can you just walk away from that and not even care?"

"I do care." He defended himself. "I just don't want you to beat yourself up. If I had known that…you would've seen that, I wouldn't have let you in there. I don't want you to ever be upset or heartbroken, but you are and it kills me."

Mara closed her eyes and Jerome wrapped his arms around her.

"How could they do that?"

"I don't know. They are sick and horrible. I'm sorry, baby." He said and kissed her hair. "Come on, let's go back.

She nodded and followed, holding his hand tightly in her own. Her heart pounded with her head and the thumping rang in her ears. Just the thought of someone having such a cold heart or no heart at all amazed her. How could someone do that without a single ounce of guilt?

They pushed through branches and stepped over sticks and stones, on their back to the car. When they made it back, the others weren't there.

Jerome looked at his watch. "We've still got a few minutes until we have to meet up. Would you feel up to checking out that tree house over there?"

"Yeah, I'm fine." She assured him and let him guide her to the child's play house.

* * *

**Review?**

**"There's this thing about himself that he's never told you before. Baby! He need to tell you something. I don't got a belly button!" -Belly Button, Veggie Tales (My siblings are making me play it!)**

**-Rachel**


	6. Chapter 6

**Hey! Next chapter is here! I'm glad that everyone likes this story so much! :D**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

After a few minutes of searching the map for their location and Fabian suddenly forgetting what stood for _S_, they succeeded in sending the message through Morse code. Fabian ran a hand through his brown hair and spoke to his friends, "I don't know if anyone picked it up, but…we can only hope that we'll be found and we can get help."

"Alright, let's check out that bunker where you thought you saw Nina and see if we can find anything." Eddie suggested and they hopped out of the jeep as Joy slipped the map into her purse.

They walked into the bunker and found the bunk beds that lined the walls on either side toppled over on top of each other as if they had fallen like dominoes. A table lamp lay smashed and papers were scattered over the wood floorboards.

The three ignored the red splotches that covered most of the surfaces in the room best they could and began to search through the drawers of desks and under beds and mattresses. Fabian sifted through some of the papers on the floor that were marked _Confidential_; Joy pulled things out of drawers; and Eddie stared at pictures that hung on the walls.

The men and women on these walls had families. He wondered what had happened on this military base. He had never seen anything like this, except in movies. Maybe, this was an old movie set and they didn't know it. Maybe, there was nothing to worry about. Maybe, everything was okay.

"I found something," Fabian announced, holding up a piece of paper.

Eddie turned to him and pushed his thoughts away. This was real. It had to be.

"It's a letter from Sergeant Mason to Major Cameron regarding the mission they had been stationed here for with their families." He explained before he read the brief letter out loud. "'The men here are frantic. The experiment has gotten too extreme for a good number of the men, including their families. I, too, sir, have suffered the illusions caused by the fog. Some men have been experiencing suicidal thoughts; and what's worse, some have tried to murder other soldiers or their families here on the base. We've kept those men under control, but the men guarding those men are also suffering. Sir, I find it absolutely necessary to demand that you put this case under solved. There is not much to it, but this, sir: the fog is as it was described and it cannot be stopped. I don't think it is healthy for any of us to remain here and I beg you to allow us to retreat back to our homes where it is safe.'"

Joy's eyes noticeably widened as Fabian read the letter and Eddie sighed in amazement.

"What's that supposed to mean?" she screeched.

"When I think about it," Eddie began, peeking out the broken window at the rest of the bunkers around them. At the entrance of the base, a thick fog pooled on the ground; swarming around the camp and curling through the trees. "There's been that fog all over this place. I've never seen so much fog."

"And it can't be that all of those men had mental problems before they came here. Someone like that would never be in the army." Joy stated once she had calmed down from her outburst.

"If that letter's real," Eddie said, sitting down beside Fabian on the floor and taking the paper from him.

Fabian didn't say anything as he stacked the remaining papers neatly.

"What's wrong, Fabes?" Joy asked, placing a hand on his arm to get his attention.

"That letter, real for fake, was never sent. What happened to the people here?"

"I don't think we want to know at this point." Eddie sighed, standing up and brushing his pants off. "Let's head back to the car and talk to the others. Hopefully, they got farther in finding Nina than we did."

His friends nodded and they left the bunker.

None of them felt safe at that moment. According to what they had found and what they allowed their imaginations to conjure up, there was something disturbing about the fog they were walking through. People had died at that military base and it might not have been possible for anyone to have escaped. Anyone could have killed the people, and that person could still be out there, in the fog.

They weren't safe, and they knew that.

* * *

**Review? **

**"Christ, give me something. I'm so thirsty, I'm so thirsty. Oh please, let me warn them. Don't you come here; don't bring anyone here." -Chasm, Flyleaf**

**-Rachel**


	7. Chapter 7

**Haha, I was going through my fanfic files and I realized that I never uploaded this chapter! What?! I don't know why I didn't...but anyway, here you are!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Jerome ran his fingers through his hair once he came to the top of the ladder and climbed into the tree house. He bent down and took Mara's hand to help her the rest of the way up.

It looked like a normal tree house. There was a window on the wall beside Jerome and a table underneath it serving as a desk. There were drawings and posters tacked up on the walls and toys lay scattered on the floor. There was a toy chest in the corner with a floor lamp beside it. Mara walked over to the lamp and switched it on. The light bulb flickered for a moment before it illuminated the room. She kneeled down to the wooden floor in front of the toy chest and Jerome made it way over to the wall with the most pictures.

He pulled off a few of the drawings of dogs and rainbows and suddenly one came into few that was different than all the others. A black figure with glowing eyes and the name Elise scribbled under it. He pulled it off the wall slowly, wondering why a child would draw this. He turned quickly and Mara cried out.

She backed away from the toy chest and stared at it with wide eyes. Sitting in the chest was a life size doll. Its hair had been cut off at the root and one eye was missing; the mouth was hanging open with dried blood on its chin. He helped her off the floor and she brushed off her jeans.

"Why would someone do that?" she shrieked. "This person is sick!"

"Or the kid was really weird." Jerome suggested. "I bet they had no friends – except for this…imaginary friend, maybe; Elise."

Mara took the paper from him and stared at it. "This is getting really creepy. Is there anything else we have to do? I really want to get back and be with the others."

"Oh, love, don't you trust me to protect you?" he said it teasingly but he let a little sincerity show.

"I know you'll protect me," she whispered.

Jerome nodded and turned back to the papers on the wall. As he pulled more away, Mara shut the toy chest and looked around. She looked at the desk and stared down at the paper lying on the wood. It was a child's drawing. There were four colored squares with four colored drawings above the squares; a blue moon, a red cat, yellow cookies and a green tree. Mara scratched her eyebrow in thought and breathed out a slow sigh. She spun around and opened the toy chest, pulling out four wooden blocks from the bottom of the box and shut the lid almost immediately.

Jerome's attention snapped to her at the bang the toy chest lid made when it closed. She put the blocks down on the desk and sat on the stool. Curiously, Jerome tilted his head to the side and came up behind her, getting down on his knees and resting his head on her shoulder. She picked up the blue block and spun it around, eyeing the pictures, before the she set it down in the red square on the paper with the star pointing upwards. She did the same with the other three blocks matching a red mouse to the cat, yellow milk to the cookies and a green leaf to the tree. She shook her head.

"It was a stupid idea." She tried to stand up but Jerome grabbed her hips and kissed her neck.

"Love, I know that because you're short, you're always looking up, but try to be tall; look down for once." He whispered, a lazy grin tugging at his lips.

Mara scoffed in fake offense but did what he said and looked down on the blocks. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pressed her back up against his chest and leaned backwards. She grinned in understanding, brown eyes training on the pictures that were directed toward them.

"Fog, man, grave, ghost," she announced quietly, "What do you think that means?"

"I don't know. Let's head back and tell the others." He said, taking her hand and pulling her up off the stool.

He entwined their fingers as they headed back toward the car, giving her a hand a squeeze in silent comfort when she suddenly started shaking.

"J, I don't like to let my mind wander, you know that, but I just can't help it. What if the person that murdered that family is still around here?" she hissed, looking around cautiously as the fog that circled her ankles thickened.

Jerome pulled her into him and pressed a kiss to her forehead. "Don't worry, Jaffray, we'll be okay."

* * *

**Review?**

**Jara romance is probably one of the easiest things I will ever write in my life. It's just so perfect! :')**

**"One final fight for this tonight. Whoa-oh... With knives and pens, we made our plight. Whoa-oh... And I can't go on without your love, you lost, you never held on." -Knives and Pens, Black Veil Brides**

**-Rachel**


End file.
